MEDITATION FOR ATHLETES
Mastering the mental game
Whatever your sport, the path to success is filled with many mental obstacles—from losing motivation to having your energy hijacked by anxiety and worry. Meditation helps you master your mind, so you can master your game.
In a way, mastering your sport is about learning to fall in love with repetition: you need to be able to repeat the same drill again and again, each time with full focus and energy, without giving in to distracting thoughts or negative emotions and without losing motivation. This is exactly what meditation does at a mental level.
Meditation also helps to increase your mental resilience to frustration, pain, stress, and tough training; improve sleep and reduce recovery times; and boost self-discipline—all of which enhance your athletic abilities.
A daily practice of any technique is likely to give you many of the benefits you seek, but if you want to improve specific areas, start with the list below:
Willpower and concentration: Zazen, Trataka, Third Eye.
Motivation and self-confidence: Vipassana, Mini-meditation 1, Third Eye.
Relationship with teammates: Mindfulness, Loving-Kindness, Labeling.
FOCUS ON GETTING IN THE ZONE
01 Sit on a bench or chair with your spine and neck straight and unsupported.
02 Spend a minute feeling your whole body, outside and inside. Feel its weight and shape. Your body is your highly trained tool: let your mind become one with it, become intimate with it. Ask for its full commitment for the important moments that will come up. Feel it becoming extremely strong, flexible, and quick.
03 Move your attention to your breath. Breathe in deeply through your nose, counting to 5, then hold your breath for 10 seconds. Breathe out, counting to 5. If you find this too easy and it doesn’t require enough focus, try inhaling for 7 seconds, holding for 14, then exhaling for 7.
04 Relax inside your breathing: with each inhale, feel that you are filling yourself with energy, power, and strength. While holding your breath, feel that power permeate every muscle of your body. When exhaling, release all fear, all worry, and all tiredness.
05 Follow this breathing for 4–5 minutes. End the meditation here and go forward confidently. Or, if you have time, spend 5–10 minutes visualizing yourself succeeding in your goal (see here).
“With meditation, your sport can become a tool of personal growth and self-actualization.”
